Al Hilal CEO Esteve Calzada says a move for Al Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo would’ve been ‘counter-intuitive’ ahead of their Club World Cup opener against Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo Linked With Club World Cup Move
Al Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo has been heavily linked with transfers to several teams competing at the Club World Cup.
A move failed to materialise ahead of the tournament however, so he won’t be jetting off to the United States. This is despite reported interest from the likes of Flamengo, Botafogo, Wydad and his current club’s arch-rivals Al Hilal.
It is expected that he will pen a new deal with Al Nassr, with his current contract due to expire at the end of the month. He seemingly confirmed this ahead of Portugal’s Nations League final win over Spain at the start of June.
Speaking in regard to his future, Ronaldo said: “Practically nothing will change. Will I be in Al Nassr? Yes.
“I will not be at the Club World Cup. Some teams reached out to me. Some made sense and others did not, but you can’t try and do everything. You can’t catch every ball.
“You can’t go to everything, you have to think short, medium and long term. I’ve pretty much made up my mind not to go to the Club World Cup, but I’ve had plenty of offers.”
One of the clubs reported to be interested in signing the 40-year-old, Flamengo, confirmed Ronaldo rejected their approach to play at the tournament.
Meanwhile, Al Hilal bosses have claimed that a move for their rival’s main man would’ve been ‘counter-intuitive’.
Al Hilal CEO: Ronaldo Move Would’ve Been ‘Counter-Intuitive’
Speaking to BBC Sport ahead of their Club World Cup opener, Al Hilal CEO Esteve Calzada said: “We normally don’t comment on players’ situations, particularly because our name is always put out there, when a player or an agent wants to negotiate a better deal with his club, or is trying to move out.
“It’s been a very weird transfer window, it’s a very short period of time.
“You don’t want to take a decision thinking about this tournament that then you have to carry on with for the next two or three years.
“As much as I respect Ronaldo as a huge player, as we all recognise he is, it’s certainly completely counter-intuitive that you bring the biggest player of your biggest opponent to play with you. Even more when it’s only for three to four weeks.
“We’ve been trying to see if we can reinforce the team. But some players were with a mindset of ‘holidays already’, some players were sometimes just asking for too much money, and we’re aware that our team is extremely competitive.
“We’ll go into the traditional transfer window after the tournament still with the biggest ambitions to see if we can reinforce the team even more.”
Al Hilal, who have recently appointed ex-Inter boss Simone Inzaghi as their new manager, kickstart their Club World Cup campaign against LaLiga giants and record Champions League winners Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Ahead of the clash, Esteve addressed rumours linking Al Hilal to Los Blancos star Vinicius Jr.
Following their opener, the Saudi Pro League runners-up take on RB Salzburg and Pachuca in their remaining Group H fixtures. They face Salzburg in Washington on Sunday, 22 June, and Pachuca in Nashville on Thursday, 26 June.
